07Apr

APA Format Research Paper Outline

APA Format Research Paper Outline

APA stands for American Psychological Association. It is a formatting style mainly used for social sciences papers such as psychology, sociology, education and anthropology.

Your APA paper should follow the following rules:

  • 12 point font with one-inch margins.
  • It should be double-spaced.
  • Your thesis should always be underlined.
  • Your topic sentences should be underlined.
  • A single source should not be used more than five times.

The following is an APA format research paper outline:

APA Style Outline

1. Title Page

Your title page should include the following:

  • Paper’s title.
  • Your name. It should appear two lines below the title and should appear in the following order: first name, middle initial and last name.
  • Institutional affiliation.
  • Author note.
  • Course number and name.
  • Instructor’s name.
  • Assignment due date.

You should type your title in upper and lowercase letters and it should be placed at the center at the top of the page. Your tile should be in bold and should not have any abbreviations. It should be three or four lines below the top margin of the page.

2. Abstract.

The abstract page includes:

  • Page header. The title abstract should be written at the centre of the page. It should not be bold, underlined or in italics.
  • A brief summary of your research topic, research questions, methods, analysis, participants, results and conclusions. The summary should not be indented.
  • A single, double, spaced paragraph. It should be between 150 and 250 words.

3. Main paper.

The main part of your research paper includes:

  • Introduction. Your introduction should include:
  • A thesis statement.
  • A brief explanation of your research topic.
  • Thesis statement. This is the most important part of your paper’s statement. It should be underlined.
  • Body. The body should include:
  • A topic sentence for each paragraph.
  • Paragraphs should not be less than four sentences and not more than six sentences.
  • Underlined topic sentences.
  • Transition lines.
  • Proof that your argument is taking a certain direction.
  • Write in the third person.
  • Conclusion. your conclusion should include:
  • A summary of your themes and sub-points.
  • An explanation of your paper’s recommendations.
  • Evidence that you have proven your thesis.
  • A re-statement of your main point and the thesis statement.

4. Reference and Citations.

Your references and citations should include:

  • Main source materials. Include primary source documents such as books, journals, and articles.
  • Secondary resource materials. They include cited think tanks and popular writings. They should not be more than three.
  • In-text citations. Include in-text citations instead of footnotes and endnotes. Include a bibliography.